Stage Eight is cut short but still provides a tough challenge for all the riders as they reach the half way point.

Once again Simon sealed another good result on a day that saw the sports elite drop down the days standings due to serious navigation errors and a collection of new riders make their mark.

The first half of the technical stage was cancelled due to the torrential rains in the region but despite that the second half of the stage turned out to be the most technical so far. On a stage that normally would have suited Simons riding style, a few small elements went against him.

The fuse to his road book blew at the start of the special stage, forcing the Australian to manually work his road book. On top of this Simon chose to use a dessert goggle, but this proved to be a mistake as his goggles fogged up with the heat and slow riding conditions.

However Simon still managed to hold a good speed in the stage, managing to notice the navigation error that cost many of the lead riders and claim another improvement in position.

Simon Pavey - "We are lucky they cut the stage short today. It turned out to be a really long and physical stage. We rode for about eleven hours today; if the special had been the full length it would have been horrendous.

I didn't ride well at all either, I was tight on the bike and it's silly, but I picked the wrong goggle. I was riding with a dessert, they're really good for the road and faster riding but it caused my goggles to fog and it's hard to ride when you can't see.

The stage was really technical too, the type of stage I normally love. After the first few km's the track changed into sand whoops and river beds. Some of the rivers were really high. I got a struck of luck with the navigation, I had to do my road book manually yesterday and because I had to ride a little slower I noticed immediately when I missed the turn that most of leaders got lost on.

Overall, my position was really good, considering I had a bad day, to get a better result again was lucky, but sometimes in Dakar you need luck. I think the hardest part of the race is yet to come too. After the rest day we have some really long, hard days ahead."

Tomorrow is the rest day, after which the race will head toward Cordoba in a gruelling 800km stage.

Simon seems to be riding a very steady race. It doesn't seem to matter about the terrain... he is very consistent with his times between WPs and and CP's. Keep up the good work Si and lets see more photos on here!!

The longest stage of the race so far presented the rider with a completely new riding terrain moving away from the typical desert riding.

The longest special stage saw the competitors racing almost 500km, in the first of a gruelling few days leading up to the crossing back into Chile. The riders were presented with a terrain much more European than that of a typical desert stage and for most it was a pleasure to get away from the fesh fesh of the last few racing stages.

The special stage was split into two sections again and like the previous split stages, the section varied massively. The first section was a forest based firebreak stage that opened out into tracks across open moorland. Following a timed liaison section, the riders then road another fire break based stage, but far slipperier that the previous section, one that suited the southern European riders perfectly.

The slippery terrain caught many of the sports elite out, with several crashing heavily. Once again Simon showed his solid and consistent riding as he held a solid pace all day to take 64th on the stage, moving him up another couple of places too 66th overall.

Simon Pavey – “Today was relatively uneventful for me, but on Dakar that’s always a good thing. Today was long, really long. We rode for over 12 hours solid and tomorrow is going to be the same again. Everything was working well, the bike was great and it was good to get through unscathed.

I really enjoyed the first half of the special, it was more technical, and riding in forest and moorland was like where I live in Wales. I really enjoy that type of riding and it was really good fun.

The second half was chalk and cheese to the first half, it was more tracks and they were unbelievably slippery. I can’t describe it at all, it’s not bike setup or anything like that, and everyone around me was struggling like mad too. A few guys went down badly, the ground was hard and it would have hurt to fall on. I don’t have the bravery for riding firebreaks really fast, it’s just not in my nature, so I didn’t push hard. A few guys passed me on that section, but it’s not sensible to push hard in this race when you aren’t comfortable.

We’re only just over half way and the hardest stages are yet to come. Tomorrow, the two stages around Fiambala and at Copiapo are going really test us so I am going to ride my own race.”

Simon’s teammate Don Hatton is also in good spirits following his dramatic ordeal involving a truck. After travelling with the assistance team for two days he flew to Santiago to meet his family and will meet up with the team again for the last few days of the race.

Tomorrows stage is set be very similar to stage nine as the race turns north toward the famous city of La Rioja. Over 600km awaits the riders on what is set be one of the hottest stages yet.

Another long day and hot day for the riders features another day of varied and beautiful terrain as the race moves toward the infamous Fiambala stage.

Stage Ten of the 2013 Dakar was typical of Argentinean Dakar racing. A mixture of fast, twisty forest tracks, hilltop farm tracks, slippery river crossings and substantial dust made for an exciting days racing, but also meant position gains were hard to make.

Simon had a good day, moving up order again. With the riding suiting the Australian more than previous days, the only thing holding him back was the deep dust that made it hard for the riders to pass.

Despite riding well and pushing much harder than previously, Simon was slightly disappointed with the final result of 58th as he felt his level of riding on the stage outweighed the final result due to the difficulty in negotiating the dust.

Simon Pavey – “Today I had a really good day. The stage was varied and a little twister than yesterday. It suited me better and I was riding really well. I was pushing on a lot but when you caught the next dust cloud it was difficult to pass. A few times it took me 30km or so just get a break where it was safe to pass.

The terrain on the stage was great too. We started out in the forest, on sweeping firebreaks, but the grip was much better than yesterday. Over the stage we had some incredible tracks, some of it almost single track riding, it was awesome! It’s a shame it was so dusty. You can see from the general standings that making up time on each other was really difficult. You only need to look at the leaders to see that most of them caught a dust cloud and stayed there.

The amount of spectators in Argentina has been superb too. On the stage today you almost didn’t need to navigate. There were people on every corner in the strangest places. It’s incredible that they know where to watch. I also got to ride with the heli following me for a bit today, it’s always cool!

All round it was a good day and I still feel strong; it was nice to move up a few places again. The heat was high as well, about 39°C in the stage and 42°C at the bivouac. Tomorrow will probably be hotter again and will be a difficult stage but I’m looking forward to it.”

Tomorrow the race heads from La Roija to the infamous town of Fiambala, widely regarded as one of the rallies most daunting stages. The high heat, soft sands and difficult navigation presents a huge challenge to the riders, despite the shorter distance.

Stage Eleven provides drama for a large portion of the riders, including Delta Kunststoffe Husqvarna UK’s Simon Pavey.

The infamous and daunting Fiambala stages of Dakar’s past have brought drama, excitement and emotion in every edition and 2013 didn’t disappoint. However, for Simon luck was not on his side.

Rain proved a welcome release from the notoriously soft sand of Fiambala, and despite a slightly disappointing stage result at the hand of a faulty road book and some navigational errors, Simon still crept forward in the overall standings.

While the rain took the edge off the stage and gave the racers 30km less to ride, the stage proved to be one of the toughest of the race yet, and for all the racers one of the most physical. Large areas of bumpy off piste riding through viciously spiny brush proved to be a relentless and punishing task.

After missing his bivouac start time to fix the issue with his road book, Simon made his special stage start time cleanly. However the problem was not solved with his navigation equipment, but despite having to manually adjust his road book he made good time in the dunes. A small navigational mistake when riding in a group saw the riders do almost 30km extra riding. Expending huge amounts of energy whilst trying to escape a ravine, Simon lacked the strength to catch up the lost time safely; combined with having to manually adjust the road book his final position of 67th is still a good result.

Simon Pavey – “Today was brutal. The stage was very physical and I had a problem with my road book again; it’s the fourth day in a row. It seems alright in the bivouac and then it just stops.

I just had one of those days, nothing went well. I missed my initial start time due to trying to fix the road book and then had to ride hard to make the special stage. I was riding well, but it’s awkward to adjust the road book by hand and ride difficult terrain. You can manage well if it’s hard packed and fast, but when the riding is tricky you have to stop to advance it.

I caught some other guys in the stage and we made a small mistake with the nav. It took us up a really difficult streambed, I was hauling the bike around lots and it used a substantial amount of energy. From then on we had a mixture of off-piste riding through the thorn brush and dunes. I was able to ride quickly in the dunes and make up time but everywhere else was very physical and I lacked the energy.

However, in reality we are through one of the hardest stages unscathed and that’s always a good thing. The result could have been far worse; fortunately for me most of the people around me were in the group that got lost. Tomorrow is another tough day, crossing the Andes is always difficult and we have a big special stage after the liaison.”

On stage twelve the race returns to Chile, crossing the famous Paso de San Francisco. After climbing to heights of over 4000m and suffering a temperature change of 35 degrees the riders will be challenged with racing a 300km stage.

The 2013 Dakar is forcing the racers to concentrate until the very end of the race, as stage twelve proves as taxing in the liaison as the special stage.

The race crossed the Andes for the second time in 2013 as the racers trudged dirt road to infamous stage of Copiapo. The now legendary rally town has provided drama for many racers over the years, including Simon who has twice fallen fowl of the sands.

2013 was to prove less dramatic than previous years as many riders showed that their previous experiences have left scars. Simon was amongst those who gave the stage special respect, as he gave his engine a gentle ride to the finish.

The stage provided a large variety of terrain, mixing fast sand roads, technical sand and long riverbeds. On top of this the racers were confronted with confusing navigation caused by the criss-crossing tracks of local riders. Despite being gentle to his engine, Simon climbed again in the overall standing to 61st overall with a 58th place finish on stage.

Simon Pavey – “Today has been long and I’m glad it’s behind me. The liaison was hard work, climbing the mountains this morning was cold and we had another really early start. We left at 4:30 and it was hard to stay awake whilst riding.

The special stage was a great though; it was a lot of fun. It was very varied, some of it was a little fast for my taste and with my history in the Copiapo stages I was really gentle on my engine. It was easy to sit at 130 to 140km/h today but I was scared to push the bike that hard, it felt like it was straining in the sand a bit.

A lot of the stage was that type of riding, but we also had some great dune sections that were huge and a fun dry river at the end of the special. In the more technical sections I pushed pretty hard, I rode everything well and was picking good lines, it was great!

Some of the navigation was tricky as well. The area is obviously a massive local playground and there are tracks going everywhere. Each junction you get to have ten options so you had to pay attention to make sure you are going in the right direction.

I’m pleased with the result; I didn’t feel like I was riding fast so it’s a good result. We are close to the end now, but the rally is still a long way from the end. The final couple of days are going to be tough.“

Stage Thirteen is the second last day of the 2013 Dakar, but the organisers are not giving the riders any rest. With another long and difficult special stage based in the Copiapo area, the rally is far from over for the racers.